It's probably not escaped yer notice that our house hasn't been built in Blighty, and as Switzerland's not in the EU, and thus not an Euro nation, that our costs are a mixture of Euros and Swiss Francs. Not a Pound Sterling to be seen anywhere. But that doesn't mean we can't come up with a useful way of breaking the costs down.
Ok, here they are, warts and all...
| GBP(£) | EUR(€) | CHF(CHF) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building land 660m2 | £168,708 | €248.513 | CHF408'000 |
| Architect | 7,236 | 10.659 | 17'500 |
| Excavations, water, etc | 68,228 | 100.502 | 165'000 |
| Local services | 21,502 | 31.673 | 52'000 |
| Project costs sub-total | £96,966 | €142.834 | CHF234'500 |
| General landscaping | 33,080 | 48,728 | 80'000 |
| Gardening | 2,068 | 3.046 | 5'000 |
| Wooden decking | 7,443 | 10.964 | 18'000 |
| Car port | 8,270 | 12.182 | 20'000 |
| Landscaping sub-total | £50,861 | €74.919 | CHF123'000 |
| Huf Haus 3.09.30 | 238,882 | 351.866 | 577'729 |
| House extras | 38,064 | 56.067 | 92'056 |
| Standard cellar | 53,746 | 79.167 | 129'984 |
| Cellar extras | 1,383 | 2.037 | 3'345 |
| Insurance | 930 | 1.370 | 2'249 |
| Huf Haus costs sub-total | £333,005 | €490.507 | CHF805'363 |
| Heating system | 9,511 | 14.009 | 23'000 |
| Kitchen | 16,127 | 23.755 | 39'000 |
| Bathroom extras | 4,549 | 6.700 | 11'000 |
| Lights | 827 | 1.218 | 2'000 |
| Non-Huf internal costs sub-total | £31,013 | €45.683 | CHF75'000 |
| Grand total | £680,552 | €1.002.456 | CHF1'645'863 |
Yes, it's quite scary isn't it. Better sit down for a while, if you haven't already.
Feeling better now? Right, so what does this mean for your dream Huf Haus project?
I purposely split the costs into the above categories 'cos I reckon the external costs are more or less proportional to the size of the land, and the Huf Haus and internal costs are proportional to the size of the house. Now our land is 660 square metres, and the internal floor area comes to 240 square metres.
| Land costs/m² (660m²) | £255 | €376 | CHF618 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project costs | 146 | 216 | 355 |
| Landscaping | 77 | 114 | 186 |
| External costs/m² (660m²) | £223 | €330 | CHF541 |
| Huf Haus costs | 1,388 | 2.044 | 3'356 |
| Non-Huf internal | 129 | 190 | 313 |
| Internal costs/m² (240m²) | £1,517 | €2,234 | CHF3,668 |
Ok, so we finally have some per square metre projections. But isn't every country different? And what about variations in land prices? Well, I honestly think that the internal costs are pretty much the same across Europe. Huf Haus will charge you in Euros, and assuming you don't go too crazy with non-Huf internals, even variations in VAT or whatever won't make too much difference. The land prices are another story though, hence I've given 'em their own sub-total.
An example... you have in mind a 1,500m² plot which is up for grabs for £300,000 (Ha! You wish!). How much would it cost to shove a 350m² 5-axis Huf Haus palace on the top of it?
Lemme see, the land cost itself is already known at £300,000. So the external costs will come in at 1,500m² x £223 which comes to, erm, £334,500 externally. And then we have the Huf Haus itself plus internal specials, which comes to 350m² x £1,517 = £530,950. Add the land price, external and internal costs together, and we come to a grand total of £1,165,450.
Eek!
So, have fun calculating... and can a few existing owners let me know if the above calculations tie in with your own experiences?
35 comments:
Holy Christ, what on earth could cost 23.000 Euros on that kitchen???
Well, to put it in context, we had quotes for twice that amount from the likes of Poggenpol and others. We went with Leicht in the end, and are chuffed to bits with it.
Just the electronics came to about 10,000 euros. Oven, combi micro/2nd oven, dishwasher, kochfeld/hob and most of all, that whopping big Wesco extractor fan.
So you can see we did quite well in the end. Tis an expensive business...
Sure know, am in the kitchen biz myself.
So what was the price for the furniture itself, without the technical stuff?
Sorry, the name's Dan
Hi Dan,
Well, I also forgot to mention the food centre (ca. EUR 3.500) and the clothes washer/drier (ca. EUR 2.500) were also included in the final bill. Total for electronics about EUR 12.000.
I'm guessing the furniture itself came to about EUR 10.000. That includes 11x 60cm standard units (8x in the island) plus 1x 60cm high for the ovens and 1x 30cm high storage. Oh, and stainless steel worktops and a glass splashback.
Not sure, but I think Leicht are a bit more expensive than average, although the likes of Bultalp, Poggenpol and some other fancy names are roughly double the prices. Siematics is also more or less the same, if that's a brand you know.
Well, Dan, I reckon you could save some serious money if you're in the kitchen business yourself. Every penny helps, and can be used elsewhere.
The rest of us have to pay consumer prices, unfortunately!
Anyway, a great choiche this all-white kitchen in the all-whitw HUF.
Our dream would be gray, like the one similar to yours in Hartenfels with that lovely red door. I proposed to my wife on the couch in there last autumn :)
Will probably never be able to afford one though :(
One can only hope yer didn't then consummate yer proposal on that couch...
Yes, we also loved the grey show house at Hartenfels. It's also a 3.09.30, but with the standard bay-window, whcih we were forced to delete due to planning permission constraints.
It also has the non-standard kitchen treatment, a squeezed in ensuite bathroom, plus some camp wellness facilities in the cellar.
We copied the kitchen treatment, but declined the ensuite. We also skipped the wellness facilities as were very certain Danny La Rue won't be visiting us anytime soon.
Why white? 'Cos my wife's had her heart set on the white for donkey's years. I'd have lived happily ever after with the white or grey, so I'm a happy bunny.
The red door was our first choice, but fell out of favour later on. If it started to get on our nerves as time passed, then it would *really* have gotten on our nerves. We decided to be a little less brave.
Incidentally, our first choice red kitchen also fell out of favour for the same reason.
So, we have a white house, white door, white kitchen, white walls, white sofa, white curtains and white dining room chairs. I feel like an excerpt from some futuristic vision of utopia. Only need a silver suit and a rocket car, and we're set for Flash Gordon to turn up.
You should be writing books for a very, very successful living you know...
But the grey house has a walk-in-wardrobe ensuite, not a bath, doesnt it?
The upstairs master bathroom is more or less the same as yours.
You're right, it was an ensuite wardrobe. Twas Claudia and I that toyed with the idea of using the space for an ensuite shower room. Brain must be getting addled with old age.
Hi
My partner and I are considering building a 350m Huf Haus,and going very high end in the spec, can you confirm your approx estimate of 1500 UK pounds per/m built?
Many thanks
Curt
Hi Curt,
1. Yes, I would use my GBP 1,517/m2 as a guide for the house itself. Maybe add more for gold bathtaps, jacuzzi and helicopter landing pad. Comes to just over half a million quid, right?
Not to be underestimated are the external costs...
2. The land itself is a lump sum, so easy to budget, or, more likely, to rebudget once you've handed over a shockingly large pile of cash.
3. Finally, I'll also stand by the GBP 223/m2 external costs for digging, landscaping, driveways, etc etc. Only here, we're counting the overall area of your building plot. Probably becomes marginal for a plot larger than about 1,200 m2, though.
Regards,
Ric
Hello, All; Susanna here.
I am thinking of getting a Huf Haus mostly for all that glass and light - but a much more simple style: One big room downstairs with wc & washing machine annexes, and 2 bedrooms in the eaves with en suite dressing rooms and showers.
How long does it take to get this sort of thing planned, designed, ordered, ready for delivery?
I hope to have land and cash in +/-3 years - still got to find a site, unfortunately...
Does 3 years sound reasonable?
I'm very impressed with your costing advice - just what I needed.
Grateful for any help.
Bless you.
susanna
Hi Ric
Your house looks fab! We're having 2 built in the North of England. Planning as been passed and we are now on our way to Germany (at last!!)
What can I expect? I've already chosen siematic for my kitchens but other than that what should i be expecting to budget for the rest? Your advice would be much appreciated.....
Hi Susanna,
Sorry for the slooooooow response, but I've not been looking backwards for comments against older posts. Lesson learned...
Anyways, I reckon you can bank on about 6 months from grassy land to moving in. Fits in with both Bob Salmon and my own experiences. Getting planning permission would take anything between 3 months and 2 years, (or never) and that applies to Switzerland, the UK or any other planning regulated country.
Gives you plenty of time to start saving, eh?
Ric
Hi Mich,
Ditto for the apologies.
Well, Seimatics and Leicht are much or a muchness, so you can expect more of the same from that angle.
With regards to what you can expect from your projects? Well, I'd expect Huf Haus to perform wonderfully. You may be a bit disappointed with your factory time slots, but once you've got them you can plan yer life around 'em. It'll be clockwork from then on.
I'd also look to your local suppliers and contractors for the real hiccups. If I were you, I'd keep a close eye of 'em and look for those early warning signs. Not all local suppliers are crap of course, so if yours aren't then kiss them three times each *after* the final work's done. Until then...
Regards,
Ric
Hi Ric, can you get in touch as my emails to you keep bouncing back. I'd love to put the "Huf costs" piece on the Huf Owners' website (with a credit and link to you, of course!) Thanks, Sara Scott, huf.owners@gmail.com
Hello All, I saw your program on discovery channel and i was extremely impressed , amazing work u guys are doing. OK I was wondering, if one is able to afford your expences is it possible to build a Huf Haus in countries other than european? in Pakistan to be exact?
thanks
Omar
Hi there,
I'm not Huf Haus... you'd have to contact them directly to get a view.
Regards,
Ric
Hi Ric, Well done for all of your work. I'm living in Ireland and experienced a complete different price-level for a Davinci Haus. All the references I got from the Rep in Ireland a lot of references, I phoned all of them up and asked them for their prices without site and extras bits and pieces - houses from 3200sqft to 5500sqft they all ran out between €280 to €310 per sqft foot or €3014 or €3337 per sqm. No fancy extras - That means there must be a completely different pricing system between Ireland and elsewhere, actually Ireland seems to be more expensive by a lot than everywhere else!!
We are from Russia. Liked your house. We are in building business, have own land and want to make a basement ourselves. We also don't need any furniture, tec.filling of the house. Just the house itself: сarcass, interior trim, engeneering in-house service.
1)How much will a square meter cost in such case?
2)Is the assemblage possible in Russia?
Ten houses with the average area of 150-350 sq.m. are concerned.
Hello Russia,
You would be best contacting the Huf Haus people directly.
Regards,
Ric
Hi Ric
We are hoping to build a Huf Haus next year in Somerset. We have the plot with an existing house on it. This will be demolished. As we already have water, drains, electricity etc on site, will this be a saving cost wise or make things worse? We hope to have no issues with planning as we are building on an existing footprint and there are no near neighbours. Justa bit daunted by the cost.....I am guessing the £/euro exchange rate will have made it all more expensive......
Am hoping to build about 200 square meters.
Thanks for all your advice on this blog,
Helen
Hi Helen,
Well, I'm not so sure how much building on a brown-field site helps to cut costs. However, just a wee thunk makes me imagine that certain costs such as routing cables, pipes, and wotnot to your property will be avoided, so I reckons it's *got* to help keep the costs down.
Of course tearing yer old pad down'll cost a bit, but a recent chappie here in Switzerland reconed it cost the equivalent of about GBP 25 grand to get his site well and truly cleared up, and that's not counting recovered costs such as roof tiles, lead-pipes, etc.
Best thing to do is to let us know how it all works out for you. That 200 square metre house sounds fairly similar in space to our place, by the way. As for Somerset... well, it's only when yer et to life outside of Blighty for any length of time when you start really appreciating just how wonderful the greeny bits are...
Take care, and let us all know how it turns out for you.
Kind Regards,
Ric
Hi Ric,
I'm very glad I found your blog, especially the pricings! Building my own Huf Haus (or having it built!) is a dream of mine; I too am based in Switzerland, just outside Basel so it is really useful to compare prices! The land itself is a huge hurdle (lack of availability combined with price!) so seeing your breakdown of costs is great. Many thanks!
Hi Ric,
Thanks for your very interesting and useful blog & costing. When you say: Internal costs = £1517/m² (240m²)
Is the 240m² the area of the building, or the floorspace? For a two story building the floorspace would be approx twice the building area.
Sorry about this newbie question.
Thanks & regards,
Neil.
Hi Neil,
The 240 m2 is the internal floor space of the house.
The building area of our house is about 9 m2 by 13 m2, so about 120 m2. The bits lost to the stairs, open gallery and internal walls (not too many of those) are more than made back up again by the large office room we fitted out in the keller.
Kind Regards,
Ric
Hi Ric
thanks for the blog, just went to hartenfels to do the fit for a 3.09.30 white much like yours that we will build in Vaud early next year... prices have gone up from your costing :-(
I need to work on the kitchen, do you think your Leicht supplier would build in Vaud?
Richard
Hi Ric, how do you find the huf house customer support? have you made any previous experience? tx Anne
Thanks a lot for this info Ric.
The question I would like to ask you is the cost per m2 of the keller?(ballpark)
Thanks for the Leicht tip;I'd never heard of them.
Hello. Could someone please tell me if these Huf houses with all their windows are suitable for the colder climate in Norway ? Thanks.
Many thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences and costs. After considering Huf Houses and other modular or pre-fab homes for their speedy and standard construction, my wife and I finally decided on a traditionally built 5 bedroom home by a reputable developer. Delivery took 18 months and worth the wait and price.
We are not rich by any means. I am a software engineer and my wife is a project manager with a leading telecom company. I guess I would consider us as being middle to upper middle class.
Here is our bit: for all their allure, I still find Huf Hauses to be woefully inadequate for the U.S. lifestyle for the following reasons:
1) Way undersized. Most married couples in the U.S. with two or more children prefer 4 to 5 bedroom homes averaging around 3,000 sq. ft. (or 900++ sq. meters).
2) Lack of closet space. Each bedroom should have a closet. Preferably a walk-in closet. In the Master Bedroom, His and Hers walk in closets.
3) Each bedroom should have its own full bathroom; although two children could share a bathroom, which would leave a minimum of at least 4 full bathrooms in a 5 bedroom house plus a half bath guest bathroom on the first floor.
4) Lack of storage space. There is no attic space, lack of cabinetry in the kitchens. No outside storage shed.
In addition, there are no comments regarding the glass area: are the panels impact resistant? are they double glazed so as to filter out heat, UV and Infrared light? Can they be made opaque? There is a serious privacy issue here.
Hi, just wanted to say thanks a lot for this really informative blog! I've been interested in the Huf Haus ever since I saw it broadcasted on BBC's Grand Designs show. Thanks again for this really valuable information!
Hi! It is great to read all your comments and advice. I wonder what other brands of premade dream houses can I find in Franc. I live here and I would like to compare prices before getting into a project. Any Suggestions?
Thanks,
Alejandro
Hi Ric, do u want 2 connect our blogs? Greetz, Toby
www.fachwerkhausexperte.de
www.fachwerkhausexperte.blogspot.de
Post a Comment